When God Seems Distant ~ Day 14 ~ Part 1

The Lord has hidden Himself from His people, but I trust Him and placed my hope in Him.

                                                                                                                                                                       Isaiah 8:17

It is easy to worship God during times of plenty. When things are going good for us, we remember that God is on our side. However, when we are in pain and suffering, we often think has left us. It's hard to thank God for the trials that we face. We don't remember that, sometimes, God teaches us through those trials. During these times, we cannot feel God by our sides.

In Philip Yancey's "Reaching for the Invisible God", he states, "Any relationship involves times of closeness and times of distance, and in a relationship with God, no matter how intimate, the pendulum will swing from one side to the other". In other words, just as any other relationship, our relationship with God is growing through the changes of life.

God has repeatedly promised us, "I will never leave you nor forsake you" (Psalm 37:28). However, He admits that sometimes He hides His face from us (Isaiah 45:15). This feeling comes from testing and maturing of your relationship with God. It is a development of your faith (Job 23:8). 

Sometimes, this feeling can be brought on by sin. Sin does cause a disconnect from God. However, it is much more likely that this distance is a test of our faith. Faith, not feelings pleases God. So what we feel is often unimportant; it is our faith that matters. God wants us to feel His presence; but it is more important that we trust that He is there.

Consider Job: for 37 chapters, God said nothing while he lost everything. What did Job do finally to connect with God? "Then he fell to the ground in worship and said:' Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave in the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised'" (Job 1:20).

Due to technical problems, Part Two of this lesson will be posted at a later time.We are sorry for the inconvenience